186 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



naked young one clinging, spread-eagle fashion, to 

 the under surface of the body. The babe was a re- 

 pulsive looking creature, but we deeply regretted 

 having killed its mother. The bat was shot while on 

 the wing, which proved that the young are carried 

 during the long flights to and from the "camp." When 

 the dead animal and its offspring were taken indoors 

 a musky odour pervaded the room, and we were 

 politely asked by a young woman, who, at first, had 

 been anxious to inspect them, to "take the horrid 

 things away." Our zoologist spent an hour skinning 

 the adult bat, while the young one was chloroformed 

 and placed in spirits. 



The head of a Fruit Bat resembles that of a Fox, 

 hence the popular name. Some simple folk, per- 

 haps, really believe that the creatures are winged 

 Foxes. Several species inhabit North and Eastern 

 Australia, and in some districts the animals are ex- 

 ceedingly numerous. They are gregarious, forming 

 large "camps" in wild spots, remote from human 

 habitations. Day long the bats remain in "camp" 

 hanging head downward from the branches, which 

 often bend beneath the burden. At sundown the 

 creatures unfold their wings, rise above the trees, 

 and fly swiftly to the feeding ground, which may be 

 many miles from the "camp." They are particularly 

 partial to cultivated fruit, and do much damage in 

 orchards in the settled districts. At intervals the 

 growers form hunting parties, which proceed to a 

 "camp" and shoot hundreds of Flying-Foxes as they 

 hang from the boughs. It is not sport, but merciless 

 slaughter. Aborigines regard the Fruit Bat as a 

 delicacy, for their noses are not offended by the musky 

 scent, which nauseates white people. It is said that 

 the flesh is palatable, but I should not care to taste it. 

 In Queensland these huge bats often enter towns; 

 I have seen them even in Brisbane, feeding in a More- 

 ton Bay Fig tree near the central railway station. 



